Q&A: Lords of Acid

The Belgian techno act is still 'Pretty in Kink'

Photo credit: Courtesy TAG Publicity

THE LORDS ARE HERE: Praga Khan of Lords of Acid.

By Jonathan WilliamsSaturday March 16, 2019 02:16 pm EDT

Originally fusing acid house and techno beats with sensual lyrics about sex, drugs, and other hedonistic endeavors, Lords of Acid emerged from the ’90s rave scene to cross over into industrial and electro-rock. Though many of the key performers and songwriters have come and gone over the years, Belgian-based Praga Khan has kept the debauchery going, most recently with last year’s Pretty in Kink. Sultry new singer Marieke Bresseleers is the latest to join the party, helping expand the band’s sound even further on tracks such as the spy-tunes-inspired “Goldfinger” and the hip-hop-infused “What the Fuck!” Headlining a Saint. Patrick’s Day show at the Masquerade, featuring Orgy, the Genitorturers, and other like-minded acts, Praga Khan discusses the new album, the current lineup and the band’s contributions to electronic music.

The current incarnation of Lords of Acid features some familiar faces, as well as a new one in singer Marieke Bresseleers. How did she become your latest frontwoman?

It’s very easy to work with a singer who is from Belgium because you can listen to something and go back to the studio. It’s so much easier to come to very, very good results when you can do it a couple of times. That was the problem when I was working with American singers. They came to Belgium and had to do it in one week. Then they left back to L.A. or wherever. This time, I was really looking forward to working with a Belgian singer. So, I asked musicians that I know who could be a good singer for Lords of Acid. I don’t want to make the songs too easy in vocal range and everything, so I really needed a very good singer. They came up with Marieke, who has classical training. She’s a very good singer with a wide vocal range, which was perfect for this album. In the deep she sounds really good, in the high she still sounds very strong, and she can sing very sensual. So, it was the best of both worlds because she’s a very energetic performer with a very good voice. That’s what we needed on this album, and also on the tour.

The rest of the band consists of people you’ve performed with previously. Being from Belgium, how do you go about assembling an American touring band?

I always try to look for a combination of people who are easy to work with, but are also very good musicians. These guys are really good, they’re very professional, but they also know how to party. I would say that’s a good combination for this band. Sometimes it’s a thin line because you need people who are a little bit crazy, but people who are too crazy can’t put on a good show.

You’re playing in Atlanta on St. Patrick’s Day. Do you have any particular party plans for this show, or are there specific places where you like to party when you’re in Atlanta?

St. Patrick’s Day is not a holiday [in Belgium]. Most of the people in Belgium don’t even know what it is. I’ve been [to Atlanta] so many times, but the only thing I’ve seen is the entrance to the concert hall. The bus parks in front of it, there’s the concert hall, the dressing room, and that’s it. You travel in a bus, you arrive in a city, you park the bus, you do a sound check, you go to eat, you see the supporting acts, then it’s time to start the show. After the show you talk to the fans and do a signing session, you go back to the bus, you eat pizza and the bus is already driving.

You’ve always incorporated elements of various genres into the Lords of Acid sound. But Pretty in Kink is even more varied than usual. How did you end up with a collection of songs ranging from the James Bond-inspired “Goldfinger” to songs with more hip-hop influences?

I wanted to make this album sexy and slow tempo. This album has a lot of slower tempo songs and a lower BPM. Every year we have a competition for the best athletes called the Diamond League. Marieke had performed there a couple of times and every time she had to do the James Bond song “Diamonds Are Forever.” That’s how I came up with the idea of doing a James Bond thing, “Goldfinger,” on the album, so she could really go all the way with her voice. The slower beat songs give the album a more erotic feel. I was already thinking about doing something with rap for so long, but I never did it. There’s a rapper I work with in Belgium that wanted to do it, so there’s a couple of tracks on the album that have rap vocals. He’s a very talented composer who works with a lot of American rap artists.

The band has seen numerous lineup changes over the years, most notably Olivier Adams, who helped define the Lords of Acid sound on your first several albums. What is he up to these day?

Olivier Adams is living in Portugal now because he got a little tired of touring and the stress of all that stuff. So, he’s living in the south of Portugal, where it’s really warm and cozy. There’s not so much stress and it’s not like a rat race, like in Belgium, where you have to compete with everything and work against deadlines and stuff. He’s enjoying himself there, living his life the Portuguese way — a lot of fiestas, staying up late, drinking. It was his decision to leave the band.

I really enjoy working in the studio, going on tour, meeting fans. I always have a great time talking to fans who give me honest feedback. There’s a lot of people I’ve known for so long and they give really honest opinions. I appreciate that they are honest because I can learn something from what they think about the evolution of Lords of Acid. When I go on tour, it gives me the opportunity to talk to the fans, to perform and see what the reaction is from the crowd. It also gives me a lot of inspiration. Most of the time, when I start an album it’s when I come back from a tour. It gives me a lot of information, but also inspiration.

Lords of Acid were a huge part of the early rave scene, and the evolution of electronic music. Given your contributions to this genre, what are your thoughts on the current state of electronic music?

In America, I think we were pioneers in dance/electronic music. It was almost impossible to hear dance music on the radio in those days. I think Lust was a real surprise for a lot of people and it opened the door for a lot of European bands in the U.S. market. But it took quite some time because it came out in 1991, then Voodoo-U came out in ‘94, which was the one we did with Rick Rubin. That was the first crossover between real dance music and alternative music, and the combination that gave Lords of Acid a lot of credibility in the market. Rick Rubin co-produced it and when we did the album presentation, people from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and other bands told me they were really listening to that music and really surprised that that genre of music could be mixed with rock guitars.

Even in Europe in those days, these were two separate worlds. People who made dance music could play at raves or in a discotheque. Then you had rock bands that could play at festivals. The radio stations in Europe played rock music, but didn’t play dance music. Then in the mid-’90s, Moby, Underworld, and the Chemical Brothers started to play rock festivals, which was a very good thing. The festivals also needed the new vibe because people got a little bit bored from always seeing the same bands. Doors opened for dance music and that gave us a wider audience. People who were listening to rock music also started listening to dance music.

When we did some of our first raves in America in ‘92, ‘93, ‘94, there was not really a rave scene. We worked really hard to promote dance music in the United States, but it took quite some time. Nowadays, EDM is really far from what we are doing because it became really commercial. There’s a very big difference between Lords of Acid and Tiesto or something like that. Lords of Acid is more alternative than the DJs that are big in the States.

When I listen to people like Skrillex, for me that was something new in dance music, like the hard rock of dance music. Dubstep is a harder version of dance, which is also something I had never heard before. I really like trap music because what they’re doing with the rhythms and all that stuff is new.

With EDM, I hear a lot of things I heard 25 or 30 years ago. What I like is to bring something new to the music, make new combinations, new styles. That’s why I don’t mind putting a little bit of reggae in “Marijuana in Your Brain” or heavy guitars in “Sex Bomb.” At the end of the day, I’m happy with what I’ve done in my life and my contributions to the evolution of dance music.

More By This Writer

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Your tours come through Atlanta so often that it seems like you play here about once a year. Do you just love touring or is Atlanta one of your favorite cities to perform?
A little bit of both. I do love touring. I believe the heart of a metal band is on the road. If you want to be a true musician, it’s about the live show and it’s about touring. That’s what keeps us going and we do everything we do for that hour and a half with the fans every night.
But I do love Atlanta. We have great shows there all the way back to my Sepultura days. I’ve been arrested in Atlanta. All kinds of crazy stuff has happened in Atlanta and I love coming back there. This tour is really cool. We’re touring for an album that we’re really happy with how it came out. We think it’s going to hit hard with the fans when we play those songs live. We’re really super excited to hit the road with Kataklysm and Incite. It’s going to be fun.
When and why were you arrested in Atlanta?
That was back in the 2000s. I had an altercation with one of the bouncers. He was beating one of our fans. Of course, I didn’t like that. So, I hit him with a guitar in his head. He called the cops on me. We tried to figure out an escape plan, but the guy driving me was a 17-year-old fan with a Fear Factory T-shirt who looked like he didn’t even have a driver’s license. I got in the car with him to go to the hotel and we got stopped by the cops. It was funny. I was handcuffed in front of all the fans and they were all screaming and shit. In the end, we just went backstage, I talked to the security guy and told him, “You can’t do that to my fans. You’re there to be security, not beat them up.” He apologized for that, I apologized for hitting him in the head with a guitar, and everything was good. I didn’t end up going to the police station, which was cool. It was an eventful night, to say the least.
Why do you think touring is so important specifically for a metal band?
The basic thing goes back to rock ‘n’ roll itself. If you want to be in a band, to be good you have to go on stage and deliver. That’s why Black Sabbath was good, Deep Purple was good, Led Zeppelin was good. They didn’t rely on gimmicks. They only relied on musicianship, being good and attitude. I’ll always believe that’s the heart of rock and metal.
But in this day and age, it goes beyond that. We don’t sell that many CDs anymore. So, touring is our means of survival. Touring, merchandise and stuff like that is what keeps us alive. It’s a combination of a survival thing, but it’s also the thing to do is to play live. I love the fact that we’re actually not so big that we have to play those really big places that are not really meant for rock ‘n’ roll. I love small venues, I love the underground feeling. I think that’s great. If you want to see a real metal show, it should be at places like the Masquerade. You’re not too far away, there’s not a huge barrier between you and the fans, you’re not in some crazy sports arena that wasn’t designed for music. So, I’m glad we’re not that big!.
It’s kind of a cliche, but you feel like you’re in your own church and I’m with my tribe. It’s very comfortable, I feel great and we just go out there every night and have fun and enjoy it. In the last 30-something years I’ve been touring, I’ve never lost that fire for playing live and that passion for touring. Believe it or not, I still get nervous before a show. After 30 years, that should have gone away. But it hasn’t. I still get the butterflies and the nervousness, but I think that’s part of it.
We have a really cool band, too. Marc Rizzo, Mike Leon, and my son Zyon are all really killer musicians who just go out there and give 110 percent every night. We only played one song from the new album last year. So, it will be cool to play everything else from the album. I’ve been jamming the songs with my son and it’s going to be great to play this stuff live.
Given the tribal, beat-driven nature of a lot of your music, it makes sense that your son became a drummer. How did he end up becoming Soulfly’s drummer?
It just kind of happened. He was born into this environment and was on tour with us all the time when he was little. He sat behind all the Soulfly drummers growing up, and he was learning, picking everything up from everybody like a sponge. Then he started jamming himself. In the beginning he wasn’t there yet, then on some European shows he would jam with us and got really good. He was actually the one who one day said, “Can I join the band?” I gave it a try and it was cool. His first record was Savages, then Archangel, and on Ritual he’s on fire. He’s insane, he’s playing great. Right now, he’s probably one of the best drummers we’ve ever had. He’s a very unorthodox drummer. I’ve never played with anybody who plays quite like him. He’s very chaotic. He’s not very technical, but he’s full of attitude, adrenaline and energy. I love that about him. He doesn’t do the same things every night. He changes every night and it drives me fucking crazy. It keeps it fresh and exciting for us. It’s amazing and fun and, for a father, it’s a dream come true. It changed my life when he was born and I just hoped one day we could play together. Here we are. We’re doing it right now, so it’s a dream come true.
The thing that jumps out at me about RItual is that it has a little bit of everything you’ve become known for, from brutal metal riffs to tribal Latin rhythms to some Motörhead-style hard rock. Did you have all that in mind when you were working on this album or did you just let it take you where it wanted to go?
The producer, Josh Wilbur, was a big part of it. He did the record as a fan and really wanted to make the record he wanted to hear as a fan. I’d never really done a record like that. I normally just do my thing, but I thought it would be cool to bring in all the elements that people like about Soulfly. We did a lot of the groove stuff, a lot of the tribal stuff and a lot of the death metal/thrash metal mix. Then there’s “Feedback!,” which is a nod to Motörhead in memory of Lemmy Kilmister. There’s a riff that sounds kind of like “Ace of Spades” and I just wrote it, we put it into the song and it became its own thing. If you don’t know, you’d think it was a cover song. It doesn’t even sound like Soulfly. We’re still taking chances, and I think that’s cool for a band on its eleventh record. Then the next song is the one with saxophone, “Soulfly XI.” Again, pushing the boundaries, not being afraid of trying new things. It was a record I wanted to do, a record that Josh wanted to hear, a record that fans wanted to hear. It definitely pleases me because in it there’s a lot of stuff that I like and listen to on a daily basis. There’s a lot of heavy stuff, and I love that. Especially “Dead Behind the Eyes” with Randy Blythe of Lamb of God and “Under Rapture” with Ross Dolan of Immolation. Those two came out fucking amazing and I loved working with those guys. Those songs, to me, really stand out from the rest. It’s going to be brutal to play that stuff live and when you mix in all the classics … it’s going to be a big metal party with Soulfly.
Soulfly plays Hell at the Masquerade on Wed., Feb. 6. With Kataklysm, Incite, Chaoseum, Prime Mover, and Tombstone Blue. $20 (adv). 6 p.m. 75 MLK Jr. Drive SW. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com."
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__Your tours come through Atlanta so often that it seems like you play here about once a year. Do you just love touring or is Atlanta one of your favorite cities to perform?__
A little bit of both. I do love touring. I believe the heart of a metal band is on the road. If you want to be a true musician, it’s about the live show and it’s about touring. That’s what keeps us going and we do everything we do for that hour and a half with the fans every night.
But I do love Atlanta. We have great shows there all the way back to my Sepultura days. I’ve been arrested in Atlanta. All kinds of crazy stuff has happened in Atlanta and I love coming back there. This tour is really cool. We’re touring for an album that we’re really happy with how it came out. We think it’s going to hit hard with the fans when we play those songs live. We’re really super excited to hit the road with Kataklysm and Incite. It’s going to be fun.
__When and why were you arrested in Atlanta?__
That was back in the 2000s. I had an altercation with one of the bouncers. He was beating one of our fans. Of course, I didn’t like that. So, I hit him with a guitar in his head. He called the cops on me. We tried to figure out an escape plan, but the guy driving me was a 17-year-old fan with a Fear Factory T-shirt who looked like he didn’t even have a driver’s license. I got in the car with him to go to the hotel and we got stopped by the cops. It was funny. I was handcuffed in front of all the fans and they were all screaming and shit. In the end, we just went backstage, I talked to the security guy and told him, “You can’t do that to my fans. You’re there to be security, not beat them up.” He apologized for that, I apologized for hitting him in the head with a guitar, and everything was good. I didn’t end up going to the police station, which was cool. It was an eventful night, to say the least.
__Why do you think touring is so important specifically for a metal band?__
The basic thing goes back to rock ‘n’ roll itself. If you want to be in a band, to be good you have to go on stage and deliver. That’s why Black Sabbath was good, Deep Purple was good, Led Zeppelin was good. They didn’t rely on gimmicks. They only relied on musicianship, being good and attitude. I’ll always believe that’s the heart of rock and metal.
But in this day and age, it goes beyond that. We don’t sell that many CDs anymore. So, touring is our means of survival. Touring, merchandise and stuff like that is what keeps us alive. It’s a combination of a survival thing, but it’s also the thing to do is to play live. I love the fact that we’re actually not so big that we have to play those really big places that are not really meant for rock ‘n’ roll. I love small venues, I love the underground feeling. I think that’s great. If you want to see a real metal show, it should be at places like the Masquerade. You’re not too far away, there’s not a huge barrier between you and the fans, you’re not in some crazy sports arena that wasn’t designed for music. So, I’m glad we’re not that big!.
It’s kind of a cliche, but you feel like you’re in your own church and I’m with my tribe. It’s very comfortable, I feel great and we just go out there every night and have fun and enjoy it. In the last 30-something years I’ve been touring, I’ve never lost that fire for playing live and that passion for touring. Believe it or not, I still get nervous before a show. After 30 years, that should have gone away. But it hasn’t. I still get the butterflies and the nervousness, but I think that’s part of it.
We have a really cool band, too. Marc Rizzo, Mike Leon, and my son Zyon are all really killer musicians who just go out there and give 110 percent every night. We only played one song from the new album last year. So, it will be cool to play everything else from the album. I’ve been jamming the songs with my son and it’s going to be great to play this stuff live.
__Given the tribal, beat-driven nature of a lot of your music, it makes sense that your son became a drummer. How did he end up becoming Soulfly’s drummer?__
It just kind of happened. He was born into this environment and was on tour with us all the time when he was little. He sat behind all the Soulfly drummers growing up, and he was learning, picking everything up from everybody like a sponge. Then he started jamming himself. In the beginning he wasn’t there yet, then on some European shows he would jam with us and got really good. He was actually the one who one day said, “Can I join the band?” I gave it a try and it was cool. His first record was ''Savages'', then ''Archangel'', and on ''Ritual'' he’s on fire. He’s insane, he’s playing great. Right now, he’s probably one of the best drummers we’ve ever had. He’s a very unorthodox drummer. I’ve never played with anybody who plays quite like him. He’s very chaotic. He’s not very technical, but he’s full of attitude, adrenaline and energy. I love that about him. He doesn’t do the same things every night. He changes every night and it drives me fucking crazy. It keeps it fresh and exciting for us. It’s amazing and fun and, for a father, it’s a dream come true. It changed my life when he was born and I just hoped one day we could play together. Here we are. We’re doing it right now, so it’s a dream come true.
__The thing that jumps out at me about ''RItual'' is that it has a little bit of everything you’ve become known for, from brutal metal riffs to tribal Latin rhythms to some Motörhead-style hard rock. Did you have all that in mind when you were working on this album or did you just let it take you where it wanted to go?__
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The producer, Josh Wilbur, was a big part of it. He did the record as a fan and really wanted to make the record he wanted to hear as a fan. I’d never really done a record like that. I normally just do my thing, but I thought it would be cool to bring in all the elements that people like about Soulfly. We did a lot of the groove stuff, a lot of the tribal stuff and a lot of the death metal/thrash metal mix. Then there’s “Feedback!,” which is a nod to Motörhead in memory of Lemmy Kilmister. There’s a riff that sounds kind of like “Ace of Spades” and I just wrote it, we put it into the song and it became its own thing. If you don’t know, you’d think it was a cover song. It doesn’t even sound like Soulfly. We’re still taking chances, and I think that’s cool for a band on its eleventh record. Then the next song is the one with saxophone, “Soulfly XI.” Again, pushing the boundaries, not being afraid of trying new things. It was a record I wanted to do, a record that Josh wanted to hear, a record that fans wanted to hear. It definitely pleases me because in it there’s a lot of stuff that I like and listen to on a daily basis. There’s a lot of heavy stuff, and I love that. Especially “Dead Behind the Eyes” with Randy [[Blythe of Lamb of God] and “Under Rapture” with Ross [[Dolan of Immolation]. Those two came out fucking amazing and I loved working with those guys. Those songs, to me, really stand out from the rest. It’s going to be brutal to play that stuff live and when you mix in all the classics … it’s going to be a big metal party with Soulfly.
''[http://www.masqueradeatlanta.com/events/soulfly/|Soulfly plays Hell at the Masquerade on Wed., Feb. 6. With Kataklysm, Incite, Chaoseum, Prime Mover, and Tombstone Blue. $20 (adv). 6 p.m. 75 MLK Jr. Drive SW. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com.]''"
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string(8706) " Soulfly2015k 1 2019-02-05T01:10:18+00:00 Soulfly2015k-1.jpg Latin-infused metal favorite prepares for an arresting performance 13290 2019-02-05T01:01:32+00:00 Soulfly makes a ritualistic return to Atlanta chad.radford@creativeloafing.com Chad Radford Jonathan Williams 2019-02-05T01:01:32+00:00 Originally solidifying his place in the modern metal pantheon as the frontman for Brazilian groove metal act Sepultura, Max Cavalera has kept on thrashing for more than two decades with the worldly percussive Soulfly. With its tribal beats, spiritual themes and heavy riffage, Soulfly continues to connect with its hard-rocking fans with its consistently-evolving sound and incessant touring. Currently on the road supporting its most diverse offering to date in Ritual, the band returns to Atlanta on Feb. 6. Before Soulfly brings its maelstrom to the Masquerade, Cavalera recounts a chaotic Atlanta memory, discusses the new album and more.
Your tours come through Atlanta so often that it seems like you play here about once a year. Do you just love touring or is Atlanta one of your favorite cities to perform?
A little bit of both. I do love touring. I believe the heart of a metal band is on the road. If you want to be a true musician, it’s about the live show and it’s about touring. That’s what keeps us going and we do everything we do for that hour and a half with the fans every night.
But I do love Atlanta. We have great shows there all the way back to my Sepultura days. I’ve been arrested in Atlanta. All kinds of crazy stuff has happened in Atlanta and I love coming back there. This tour is really cool. We’re touring for an album that we’re really happy with how it came out. We think it’s going to hit hard with the fans when we play those songs live. We’re really super excited to hit the road with Kataklysm and Incite. It’s going to be fun.
When and why were you arrested in Atlanta?
That was back in the 2000s. I had an altercation with one of the bouncers. He was beating one of our fans. Of course, I didn’t like that. So, I hit him with a guitar in his head. He called the cops on me. We tried to figure out an escape plan, but the guy driving me was a 17-year-old fan with a Fear Factory T-shirt who looked like he didn’t even have a driver’s license. I got in the car with him to go to the hotel and we got stopped by the cops. It was funny. I was handcuffed in front of all the fans and they were all screaming and shit. In the end, we just went backstage, I talked to the security guy and told him, “You can’t do that to my fans. You’re there to be security, not beat them up.” He apologized for that, I apologized for hitting him in the head with a guitar, and everything was good. I didn’t end up going to the police station, which was cool. It was an eventful night, to say the least.
Why do you think touring is so important specifically for a metal band?
The basic thing goes back to rock ‘n’ roll itself. If you want to be in a band, to be good you have to go on stage and deliver. That’s why Black Sabbath was good, Deep Purple was good, Led Zeppelin was good. They didn’t rely on gimmicks. They only relied on musicianship, being good and attitude. I’ll always believe that’s the heart of rock and metal.
But in this day and age, it goes beyond that. We don’t sell that many CDs anymore. So, touring is our means of survival. Touring, merchandise and stuff like that is what keeps us alive. It’s a combination of a survival thing, but it’s also the thing to do is to play live. I love the fact that we’re actually not so big that we have to play those really big places that are not really meant for rock ‘n’ roll. I love small venues, I love the underground feeling. I think that’s great. If you want to see a real metal show, it should be at places like the Masquerade. You’re not too far away, there’s not a huge barrier between you and the fans, you’re not in some crazy sports arena that wasn’t designed for music. So, I’m glad we’re not that big!.
It’s kind of a cliche, but you feel like you’re in your own church and I’m with my tribe. It’s very comfortable, I feel great and we just go out there every night and have fun and enjoy it. In the last 30-something years I’ve been touring, I’ve never lost that fire for playing live and that passion for touring. Believe it or not, I still get nervous before a show. After 30 years, that should have gone away. But it hasn’t. I still get the butterflies and the nervousness, but I think that’s part of it.
We have a really cool band, too. Marc Rizzo, Mike Leon, and my son Zyon are all really killer musicians who just go out there and give 110 percent every night. We only played one song from the new album last year. So, it will be cool to play everything else from the album. I’ve been jamming the songs with my son and it’s going to be great to play this stuff live.
Given the tribal, beat-driven nature of a lot of your music, it makes sense that your son became a drummer. How did he end up becoming Soulfly’s drummer?
It just kind of happened. He was born into this environment and was on tour with us all the time when he was little. He sat behind all the Soulfly drummers growing up, and he was learning, picking everything up from everybody like a sponge. Then he started jamming himself. In the beginning he wasn’t there yet, then on some European shows he would jam with us and got really good. He was actually the one who one day said, “Can I join the band?” I gave it a try and it was cool. His first record was Savages, then Archangel, and on Ritual he’s on fire. He’s insane, he’s playing great. Right now, he’s probably one of the best drummers we’ve ever had. He’s a very unorthodox drummer. I’ve never played with anybody who plays quite like him. He’s very chaotic. He’s not very technical, but he’s full of attitude, adrenaline and energy. I love that about him. He doesn’t do the same things every night. He changes every night and it drives me fucking crazy. It keeps it fresh and exciting for us. It’s amazing and fun and, for a father, it’s a dream come true. It changed my life when he was born and I just hoped one day we could play together. Here we are. We’re doing it right now, so it’s a dream come true.
The thing that jumps out at me about RItual is that it has a little bit of everything you’ve become known for, from brutal metal riffs to tribal Latin rhythms to some Motörhead-style hard rock. Did you have all that in mind when you were working on this album or did you just let it take you where it wanted to go?
The producer, Josh Wilbur, was a big part of it. He did the record as a fan and really wanted to make the record he wanted to hear as a fan. I’d never really done a record like that. I normally just do my thing, but I thought it would be cool to bring in all the elements that people like about Soulfly. We did a lot of the groove stuff, a lot of the tribal stuff and a lot of the death metal/thrash metal mix. Then there’s “Feedback!,” which is a nod to Motörhead in memory of Lemmy Kilmister. There’s a riff that sounds kind of like “Ace of Spades” and I just wrote it, we put it into the song and it became its own thing. If you don’t know, you’d think it was a cover song. It doesn’t even sound like Soulfly. We’re still taking chances, and I think that’s cool for a band on its eleventh record. Then the next song is the one with saxophone, “Soulfly XI.” Again, pushing the boundaries, not being afraid of trying new things. It was a record I wanted to do, a record that Josh wanted to hear, a record that fans wanted to hear. It definitely pleases me because in it there’s a lot of stuff that I like and listen to on a daily basis. There’s a lot of heavy stuff, and I love that. Especially “Dead Behind the Eyes” with Randy Blythe of Lamb of God and “Under Rapture” with Ross Dolan of Immolation. Those two came out fucking amazing and I loved working with those guys. Those songs, to me, really stand out from the rest. It’s going to be brutal to play that stuff live and when you mix in all the classics … it’s going to be a big metal party with Soulfly.
Soulfly plays Hell at the Masquerade on Wed., Feb. 6. With Kataklysm, Incite, Chaoseum, Prime Mover, and Tombstone Blue. $20 (adv). 6 p.m. 75 MLK Jr. Drive SW. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com. Rodrigo Fredes THE SUMMONING: Soulfly returns to play Hell at the Masquerade on Wed., Feb. 6. Soulfly makes a ritualistic return to Atlanta "
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string(9920) "Originally known as Rumblefish, then Crawlspace, Sevendust emerged from Atlanta’s music scene in the mid '90s and has had continued success ever since. With its bottom-heavy brand of melodic metal fronted by the soulful crooning of Lajon Witherspoon, Sevendust established itself at now-defunct local clubs such as the Wreck Room, the Cotton Club, and the original Masquerade before touring the world with some of rock and metal’s biggest names. Having released its 12th album, All I See Is War, earlier this year, the band returns to the Masquerade for three shows concluding with a New Year’s Eve performance of the group’s 1999 sophomore album Home. Just before a California rehearsal to prepare for these shows, Witherspoon took a few minutes discuss the new album, the band’s longevity and what the future holds for Sevendust.
Atlanta’s music scene was a lot different when Sevendust started out. As you come home for a three-night stand at the Masquerade, what’s your take on the current state of the city’s music scene?
I haven’t lived there in over 10 years. Morgan Rose, drummer and Vinnie Hornsby, bassist are still there. I can only talk about what I see on television, when I have time. It looks like the rap scene is doing real well; T.I. and those guys, The Real Housewives of Atlanta and all that stuff’s rocking. You think about a band like Mastodon that comes out of Atlanta. We grew up with those guys and I think the scene is still kicking. With bands like that coming out of Atlanta, and a few other bands that I’ve seen, it still seems like it’s pumping, man. You have a place like the Masquerade, that has moved and is still able to hold that name, that integrity, and bands still come through and play and have that energy. Something’s still happening there. It’s great.
When you got that first big break on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack in 1996, then the success of your self-titled album in 1997, did you anticipate releasing your 12th album more than two decades later?
Not at all. I would have never thought we would have had a career that has lasted this long. In this frugal world of the music industry we’re in, I will never take for granted how lucky and blessed I am to still be doing it. And I feel like there’s still so much for us to do, especially with us being able to recently go back over to Europe after not being there for 11 years, to rebuild that relationship and to have more chances of expanding the band. It’s a good thing.
WIth your latest album, was there a conscious effort to replicate anything from previous albums or take things in a new direction? What was the mindset going into this album?
Just to work with producer Elvis Baskette. He said, “I don’t want you guys to try to do anything different. I would like to hone you back in. Let’s go back to some old-school Sevendust and not be afraid to get back to that sound that we originated from.” Which I don’t think we were ever afraid of, but I think with any band you try to evolve and change each time to do something different. It was really cool to work with Elvis and for him to kind of police the band in a way where you don’t have to go too far and just do what you do. That’s what we did. It was incredible just to work with him. He was almost like a sixth member of the band. I’d love to work with him again.
How did that relationship come about?
We’ve known him for years and years and always wanted to work with him. We finally had the chance to, from him working with Tremonti and Myles Kennedy and even Limp Bizkit, back when he worked with those guys. There’s a little community of us that have been hanging out ever since the Creed days and Elvis has always been around. We’ve been brothers, so it was a relationship we just needed to put together.
What was your approach to this album, lyrically? Did you have some ideas going in or did things develop as the music was being written?
We took a year off because you can’t write about the same stuff all the time if you’re always on the road. It was really good for us to take a break and to be daddies, husbands, brothers, uncles, and go through things that everyone goes through in life instead of being on that tour bus and doing the same thing every night. You have to have something to write about and I feel like life is the only thing that inspires me. After a while, you have to get back to tangible stuff like cutting the grass, having my wife yell at me because I didn’t take the trash out. Those kind of things are what are real to me and that’s what makes life go ‘round. You have to have those types of experiences to continue to have energy to write, if that makes sense.
It makes sense, though I can’t really imagine Lajon Witherspoon cutting the grass.
Oh, I love to cut the grass.
Sevendust is no stranger to ballads as each album typically has one or two slower songs. On this album it’s the song “Not Original,” which other members of the band have said was inspired by Stranger Things, a show that happens to be filmed around Atlanta. What’s the story behind that song?
That was something that Clint Lowery, guitarist came up with with Stranger Things. I felt like the “Not Original” part of that song was what made the song so original. The truth and the honesty behind it is what made the song, to me, stand out more than anything else. I feel more like the song is about being in a writer’s block position, not having anything to write about and not feeling original any more in the eyes of the people. Just kind of being old and passé.
Tell me this: I remember growing up in Atlanta and reading Creative Loafing. Is this the article that’ll be in the back, and at the end of it where we get bashed?
Actually, I think this one will be online. I know you guys have been outspoken in other interviews about feeling like you weren’t really supported by Atlanta until you had made it past the local scene.
Yeah. I don’t think they believed we were out on tour with Metallica back when we were young. No one ever believed it until we came back and had a record deal. But that’s just how it was back in the day. I don’t think they expected us to get signed out of the Wreck Room, when the people from TVT Records thought it was a strip club, which was next door to the Wreck Room, and they accidentally came in and saw us play. It took us a year to sign a deal. We said we weren’t ready at the time. What a dream come true. That label put us on the map and I thank them to this day for starting the roots of our career. If it wasn’t for TVT, I don’t think we’d be where we’re at right now. And if it wasn’t for Atlanta we wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for us all meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, playing at the Wreck Room, the Cotton Club, the Scrap Bar, the Roxy. I remember all these places and being in love with these venues. It was what kept us going. It was my energy. It was our own little Hollywood. We’d go into Charley Magruder’s and we were stars then. I had my first shot of Goldschläger there at 21. They were like, “It’s got gold in it, man!” Guess what I did. I went straight to the bathroom and threw it up.
I think that’s what most people do with Goldschläger.
Exactly! I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve been waiting for this? Guess what. I ain’t doing that again.” I like Jäger now, but I think that’s the college girl inside me that I missed.
We left from the Midtown Music Fest and never came back to Atlanta for a year because we were on the road. We signed a record deal and we couldn’t believe it either. We came back to our apartments and stuff was gone, some of us didn’t have homes any more. We signed that record deal and it changed our lives.
You’ve gone on to weather numerous trends in rock and metal while other bands that came up around the same time are no more. To what do you attribute your longevity?
Moderation. Having faith. I believe in prayer. I believe in having good people around you, having a dream, and music being the thing that changed my life. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
What can fans expect from these three shows to close out 2018? I noticed some local opening bands. Was that intentional?
Yeah. Of course. We definitely wanted to have some friends of ours come out and make it fun. We’ve got three shows. The first two nights are deep cuts, then the third night we’re doing the whole album Home. We haven’t played some of these songs in, like, 50 years. Fortunately, we do play a few of these songs. So, it won’t be as hard as it seems. I think we need to go over three songs or so. But it’s crazy. You think about some of these songs and we’re like, “I forgot we recorded that song.” So, we’ll see what happens on New Year’s. I have Madame Mayhem doing the song “Licking Cream” with me that Skin from Skunk Anansie did with me. It’s going to be fun.
After ringing in the New Year at the Masquerade, what does 2019 have in store for Sevendust?
We’ll be going back over to Australia and New Zealand. We’ll also be heading out on a tour with Tremonti, Cane Hill, and a couple of cool bands that I’m looking forward to in February. There’s a big tour being talked about after that, but I don’t know if I should say anything about that yet. I’m looking forward to getting back in the studio and writing again, and working on my solo thing. -CL-
Sevendust plays Heaven at the Masquerade with Almost Kings and Madame Mayhem on Fri., Dec. 28 ($40 adv. 7 p.m.), with Otherwise, Madame Mayhem, and Killakoi on Sat., Dec. 29 ($40 adv. 7 p.m.), and with Cane Hill, Madame Mayhem, and Shallow Side on Mon., Dec. 31 ($45 adv. 7 p.m.). Masquerade. 75 MLK Jr. Drive SW. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com."
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~~#000000:__Atlanta’s music scene was a lot different when Sevendust started out. As you come home for a three-night stand at the Masquerade, what’s your take on the current state of the city’s music scene?__~~
I haven’t lived there in over 10 years. Morgan [[Rose, drummer] and Vinnie [[Hornsby, bassist] are still there. I can only talk about what I see on television, when I have time. It looks like the rap scene is doing real well; T.I. and those guys, ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' and all that stuff’s rocking. You think about a band like Mastodon that comes out of Atlanta. We grew up with those guys and I think the scene is still kicking. With bands like that coming out of Atlanta, and a few other bands that I’ve seen, it still seems like it’s pumping, man. You have a place like the Masquerade, that has moved and is still able to hold that name, that integrity, and bands still come through and play and have that energy. Something’s still happening there. It’s great.
~~#000000:__When you got that first big break on the ''Mortal Kombat'' soundtrack in 1996, then the success of your self-titled album in 1997, did you anticipate releasing your 12th album more than two decades later?__~~
Not at all. I would have never thought we would have had a career that has lasted this long. In this frugal world of the music industry we’re in, I will never take for granted how lucky and blessed I am to still be doing it. And I feel like there’s still so much for us to do, especially with us being able to recently go back over to Europe after not being there for 11 years, to rebuild that relationship and to have more chances of expanding the band. It’s a good thing.
~~#000000:__WIth your latest album, was there a conscious effort to replicate anything from previous albums or take things in a new direction? What was the mindset going into this album?__~~
Just to work with [[producer] Elvis Baskette. He said, “I don’t want you guys to try to do anything different. I would like to hone you back in. Let’s go back to some old-school Sevendust and not be afraid to get back to that sound that we originated from.” Which I don’t think we were ever afraid of, but I think with any band you try to evolve and change each time to do something different. It was really cool to work with Elvis and for him to kind of police the band in a way where you don’t have to go too far and just do what you do. That’s what we did. It was incredible just to work with him. He was almost like a sixth member of the band. I’d love to work with him again.
~~#000000:__How did that relationship come about?__~~
We’ve known him for years and years and always wanted to work with him. We finally had the chance to, from him working with Tremonti and Myles [[Kennedy] and even Limp Bizkit, back when he worked with those guys. There’s a little community of us that have been hanging out ever since the Creed days and Elvis has always been around. We’ve been brothers, so it was a relationship we just needed to put together.
~~#000000:__What was your approach to this album, lyrically? Did you have some ideas going in or did things develop as the music was being written?__~~
We took a year off because you can’t write about the same stuff all the time if you’re always on the road. It was really good for us to take a break and to be daddies, husbands, brothers, uncles, and go through things that everyone goes through in life instead of being on that tour bus and doing the same thing every night. You have to have something to write about and I feel like life is the only thing that inspires me. After a while, you have to get back to tangible stuff like cutting the grass, having my wife yell at me because I didn’t take the trash out. Those kind of things are what are real to me and that’s what makes life go ‘round. You have to have those types of experiences to continue to have energy to write, if that makes sense.
~~#000000:__It makes sense, though I can’t really imagine Lajon Witherspoon cutting the grass.__~~
Oh, I love to cut the grass.
~~#000000:__Sevendust is no stranger to ballads as each album typically has one or two slower songs. On this album it’s the song “Not Original,” which other members of the band have said was inspired by ''Stranger Things'', a show that happens to be filmed around Atlanta. What’s the story behind that song? __~~
__That was something that Clint [[Lowery, guitarist] came up with with ''Stranger Things''. I felt like the “Not Original” part of that song was what made the song so original. The truth and the honesty behind it is what made the song, to me, stand out more than anything else. I feel more like the song is about being in a writer’s block position, not having anything to write about and not feeling original any more in the eyes of the people. Just kind of being old and passé. __
__Tell me this: I remember growing up in Atlanta and reading ''Creative Loafing''. Is this the article that’ll be in the back, and at the end of it where we get bashed? __
~~#000000:Actually, I think this one will be online. I know you guys have been outspoken in other interviews about feeling like you weren’t really supported by Atlanta until you had made it past the local scene.__ __~~
__Yeah. I don’t think they believed we were out on tour with Metallica back when we were young. No one ever believed it until we came back and had a record deal. But that’s just how it was back in the day. I don’t think they expected us to get signed out of the Wreck Room, when the people from TVT Records thought it was a strip club, which was next door to the Wreck Room, and they accidentally came in and saw us play. It took us a year to sign a deal. We said we weren’t ready at the time. What a dream come true. That label put us on the map and I thank them to this day for starting the roots of our career. If it wasn’t for TVT, I don’t think we’d be where we’re at right now. And if it wasn’t for Atlanta we wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for us all meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, playing at the Wreck Room, the Cotton Club, the Scrap Bar, the Roxy. I remember all these places and being in love with these venues. It was what kept us going. It was my energy. It was our own little Hollywood. We’d go into Charley Magruder’s and we were stars then. I had my first shot of Goldschläger there at 21. They were like, “It’s got gold in it, man!” Guess what I did. I went straight to the bathroom and threw it up. __
~~#000000:I think that’s what most people do with Goldschläger.__ __~~
__Exactly! I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve been waiting for this? Guess what. I ain’t doing that again.” I like Jäger now, but I think that’s the college girl inside me that I missed. __
__We left from the Midtown Music Fest and never came back to Atlanta for a year because we were on the road. We signed a record deal and we couldn’t believe it either. We came back to our apartments and stuff was gone, some of us didn’t have homes any more. We signed that record deal and it changed our lives. __
You’ve gone on to weather numerous trends in rock and metal while other bands that came up around the same time are no more. To what do you attribute your longevity?__ __
__Moderation. Having faith. I believe in prayer. I believe in having good people around you, having a dream, and music being the thing that changed my life. I wouldn’t want to do anything else. __
What can fans expect from these three shows to close out 2018? I noticed some local opening bands. Was that intentional?__ __
__Yeah. Of course. We definitely wanted to have some friends of ours come out and make it fun. We’ve got three shows. The first two nights are deep cuts, then the third night we’re doing the whole album ''Home''. We haven’t played some of these songs in, like, 50 years. Fortunately, we do play a few of these songs. So, it won’t be as hard as it seems. I think we need to go over three songs or so. But it’s crazy. You think about some of these songs and we’re like, “I forgot we recorded that song.” So, we’ll see what happens on New Year’s. I have Madame Mayhem doing the song “Licking Cream” with me that Skin from Skunk Anansie did with me. It’s going to be fun. __
~~#000000:After ringing in the New Year at the Masquerade, what does 2019 have in store for Sevendust?__ __~~
__We’ll be going back over to Australia and New Zealand. We’ll also be heading out on a tour with Tremonti, Cane Hill, and a couple of cool bands that I’m looking forward to in February. There’s a big tour being talked about after that, but I don’t know if I should say anything about that yet. I’m looking forward to getting back in the studio and writing again, and working on my solo thing. -CL- __
__''Sevendust plays Heaven at the Masquerade [http://www.masqueradeatlanta.com/events/sevendust-3/|with Almost Kings and Madame Mayhem on Fri., Dec. 28] ($40 adv. 7 p.m.), [http://www.masqueradeatlanta.com/events/sevendust-2/|with Otherwise, Madame Mayhem, and Killakoi on Sat., Dec. 29 ]($40 adv. 7 p.m.), and [http://www.masqueradeatlanta.com/events/sevendust/|with Cane Hill, Madame Mayhem, and Shallow Side on Mon., Dec. 31] ($45 adv. 7 p.m.). Masquerade. 75 MLK Jr. Drive SW. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com.''__"
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string(10475) " Sevendust By Travis Shinn 2018-12-24T21:13:18+00:00 Sevendust by Travis Shinn.jpg The Atlanta-bred vocalist reflects on inspiration, the band's origins, and revisiting 'Home' 12130 2018-12-25T05:00:00+00:00 Sevendust's Lajon Witherspoon speaks! chad.radford@creativeloafing.com Chad Radford Jonathan Williams 2018-12-25T05:00:00+00:00 Originally known as Rumblefish, then Crawlspace, Sevendust emerged from Atlanta’s music scene in the mid '90s and has had continued success ever since. With its bottom-heavy brand of melodic metal fronted by the soulful crooning of Lajon Witherspoon, Sevendust established itself at now-defunct local clubs such as the Wreck Room, the Cotton Club, and the original Masquerade before touring the world with some of rock and metal’s biggest names. Having released its 12th album, All I See Is War, earlier this year, the band returns to the Masquerade for three shows concluding with a New Year’s Eve performance of the group’s 1999 sophomore album Home. Just before a California rehearsal to prepare for these shows, Witherspoon took a few minutes discuss the new album, the band’s longevity and what the future holds for Sevendust.
Atlanta’s music scene was a lot different when Sevendust started out. As you come home for a three-night stand at the Masquerade, what’s your take on the current state of the city’s music scene?
I haven’t lived there in over 10 years. Morgan Rose, drummer and Vinnie Hornsby, bassist are still there. I can only talk about what I see on television, when I have time. It looks like the rap scene is doing real well; T.I. and those guys, The Real Housewives of Atlanta and all that stuff’s rocking. You think about a band like Mastodon that comes out of Atlanta. We grew up with those guys and I think the scene is still kicking. With bands like that coming out of Atlanta, and a few other bands that I’ve seen, it still seems like it’s pumping, man. You have a place like the Masquerade, that has moved and is still able to hold that name, that integrity, and bands still come through and play and have that energy. Something’s still happening there. It’s great.
When you got that first big break on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack in 1996, then the success of your self-titled album in 1997, did you anticipate releasing your 12th album more than two decades later?
Not at all. I would have never thought we would have had a career that has lasted this long. In this frugal world of the music industry we’re in, I will never take for granted how lucky and blessed I am to still be doing it. And I feel like there’s still so much for us to do, especially with us being able to recently go back over to Europe after not being there for 11 years, to rebuild that relationship and to have more chances of expanding the band. It’s a good thing.
WIth your latest album, was there a conscious effort to replicate anything from previous albums or take things in a new direction? What was the mindset going into this album?
Just to work with producer Elvis Baskette. He said, “I don’t want you guys to try to do anything different. I would like to hone you back in. Let’s go back to some old-school Sevendust and not be afraid to get back to that sound that we originated from.” Which I don’t think we were ever afraid of, but I think with any band you try to evolve and change each time to do something different. It was really cool to work with Elvis and for him to kind of police the band in a way where you don’t have to go too far and just do what you do. That’s what we did. It was incredible just to work with him. He was almost like a sixth member of the band. I’d love to work with him again.
How did that relationship come about?
We’ve known him for years and years and always wanted to work with him. We finally had the chance to, from him working with Tremonti and Myles Kennedy and even Limp Bizkit, back when he worked with those guys. There’s a little community of us that have been hanging out ever since the Creed days and Elvis has always been around. We’ve been brothers, so it was a relationship we just needed to put together.
What was your approach to this album, lyrically? Did you have some ideas going in or did things develop as the music was being written?
We took a year off because you can’t write about the same stuff all the time if you’re always on the road. It was really good for us to take a break and to be daddies, husbands, brothers, uncles, and go through things that everyone goes through in life instead of being on that tour bus and doing the same thing every night. You have to have something to write about and I feel like life is the only thing that inspires me. After a while, you have to get back to tangible stuff like cutting the grass, having my wife yell at me because I didn’t take the trash out. Those kind of things are what are real to me and that’s what makes life go ‘round. You have to have those types of experiences to continue to have energy to write, if that makes sense.
It makes sense, though I can’t really imagine Lajon Witherspoon cutting the grass.
Oh, I love to cut the grass.
Sevendust is no stranger to ballads as each album typically has one or two slower songs. On this album it’s the song “Not Original,” which other members of the band have said was inspired by Stranger Things, a show that happens to be filmed around Atlanta. What’s the story behind that song?
That was something that Clint Lowery, guitarist came up with with Stranger Things. I felt like the “Not Original” part of that song was what made the song so original. The truth and the honesty behind it is what made the song, to me, stand out more than anything else. I feel more like the song is about being in a writer’s block position, not having anything to write about and not feeling original any more in the eyes of the people. Just kind of being old and passé.
Tell me this: I remember growing up in Atlanta and reading Creative Loafing. Is this the article that’ll be in the back, and at the end of it where we get bashed?
Actually, I think this one will be online. I know you guys have been outspoken in other interviews about feeling like you weren’t really supported by Atlanta until you had made it past the local scene.
Yeah. I don’t think they believed we were out on tour with Metallica back when we were young. No one ever believed it until we came back and had a record deal. But that’s just how it was back in the day. I don’t think they expected us to get signed out of the Wreck Room, when the people from TVT Records thought it was a strip club, which was next door to the Wreck Room, and they accidentally came in and saw us play. It took us a year to sign a deal. We said we weren’t ready at the time. What a dream come true. That label put us on the map and I thank them to this day for starting the roots of our career. If it wasn’t for TVT, I don’t think we’d be where we’re at right now. And if it wasn’t for Atlanta we wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for us all meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, playing at the Wreck Room, the Cotton Club, the Scrap Bar, the Roxy. I remember all these places and being in love with these venues. It was what kept us going. It was my energy. It was our own little Hollywood. We’d go into Charley Magruder’s and we were stars then. I had my first shot of Goldschläger there at 21. They were like, “It’s got gold in it, man!” Guess what I did. I went straight to the bathroom and threw it up.
I think that’s what most people do with Goldschläger.
Exactly! I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve been waiting for this? Guess what. I ain’t doing that again.” I like Jäger now, but I think that’s the college girl inside me that I missed.
We left from the Midtown Music Fest and never came back to Atlanta for a year because we were on the road. We signed a record deal and we couldn’t believe it either. We came back to our apartments and stuff was gone, some of us didn’t have homes any more. We signed that record deal and it changed our lives.
You’ve gone on to weather numerous trends in rock and metal while other bands that came up around the same time are no more. To what do you attribute your longevity?
Moderation. Having faith. I believe in prayer. I believe in having good people around you, having a dream, and music being the thing that changed my life. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
What can fans expect from these three shows to close out 2018? I noticed some local opening bands. Was that intentional?
Yeah. Of course. We definitely wanted to have some friends of ours come out and make it fun. We’ve got three shows. The first two nights are deep cuts, then the third night we’re doing the whole album Home. We haven’t played some of these songs in, like, 50 years. Fortunately, we do play a few of these songs. So, it won’t be as hard as it seems. I think we need to go over three songs or so. But it’s crazy. You think about some of these songs and we’re like, “I forgot we recorded that song.” So, we’ll see what happens on New Year’s. I have Madame Mayhem doing the song “Licking Cream” with me that Skin from Skunk Anansie did with me. It’s going to be fun.
After ringing in the New Year at the Masquerade, what does 2019 have in store for Sevendust?
We’ll be going back over to Australia and New Zealand. We’ll also be heading out on a tour with Tremonti, Cane Hill, and a couple of cool bands that I’m looking forward to in February. There’s a big tour being talked about after that, but I don’t know if I should say anything about that yet. I’m looking forward to getting back in the studio and writing again, and working on my solo thing. -CL-
Sevendust plays Heaven at the Masquerade with Almost Kings and Madame Mayhem on Fri., Dec. 28 ($40 adv. 7 p.m.), with Otherwise, Madame Mayhem, and Killakoi on Sat., Dec. 29 ($40 adv. 7 p.m.), and with Cane Hill, Madame Mayhem, and Shallow Side on Mon., Dec. 31 ($45 adv. 7 p.m.). Masquerade. 75 MLK Jr. Drive SW. 404-577-8178. www.masq.com. Travis Shinn HOME: Atlanta-bred nü Metal mavericks Sevendust return to the group's original stomping grounds for a three-night stand. Sevendust's Lajon Witherspoon speaks! "
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